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The Thriving Christian Artist - If God Called You to Create, Could Your Art Be More Than a Hobby? · Shine FM

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you've ever wondered whether you could actually turn your art into a thriving business, especially in this season of your life, I want to introduce you to my friend Elizabeth because in her 50s, after walking through some incredibly difficult life circumstances, she learned to stop striving to make everything happen on her own in her art and in her business and started creating both her art and her business with God.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: And what happened next is pretty doggone remarkable.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Today she's built two thriving creative businesses.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Her artwork is reaching collectors around the world, and she's experiencing a whole new level of confidence and creative freedom.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I want you to hear her story because I really believe it's going to help you see what's possible for your own art and your own potential art business when you start partnering with God.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump in.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: I am both a landscape artist and a graduate gemologist, which means that I work with jewelry, I have special degrees, and um had a separate career earlier in life where I was uh doing appraising and working with microscope.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I just love color, whether um I'm you doing it with painting or with um uh creating jewelry.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been blessed over the last few years to have that grow from um in this new phase of life because I, like you, am in that uh emptiness season and had um have just had so many amazing God moments.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: You know, one of the things, Elizabeth, I've I've found that can be the most difficult for us is when we walk through seasons that are really difficult, physically, emotionally, relationally, whatever.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: We're in the middle of that, and we just think the enemy's right there to say, Well, it's over.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you know, all your dreams are over, your family's over, you're you're not gonna be able to be an artist anymore.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you have walked through some major stuff in in your life.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: So talk about your journey into this season because it is not for the faint of heart.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: It would have been really easy for anybody to give up in the middle of that.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: I would say I've had two significant seasons.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, early in when in our family, we lost everything in a wildfire.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: And so we lost everything we owned.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, my youngest son was one year old, and we literally had five minutes to grab and run.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, this was part of a large wildfire in Southern California.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: And in that season, though, I was writing and I was painting.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: And um, now this was it was more as a serious hobby, I guess.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_01: But um, because I had that fluidity open, it was very healing then.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Now I'll skip to um more recently.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: I was already in your program.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: I was trying to figure out, as my husband looked at retirement, you know, what could I do to grow grow these hobbies into a business, um, specifically with my painting and the jewelry.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: And unfortunately, I had a hiking accident and tore my ACL.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: And all of a sudden, I'm in a wheelchair and to the point where to avoid surgery, they didn't even want me to like stand up to make a sandwich or to do any basic.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: I've gone from being the the caretaker of our family.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: We still had our children at home, but we were right on that cusp of of being empty nesters.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, oh, father, I do not want to be the grumpy lady in the wheelchair.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: How do I how do I do this?
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_01: But thankfully, I already was tabbed into your program and I thought, well, I have a lot of time to sit.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna go deep.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And the painting at first was just so much fun.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, specifically for me, I had done acrylics and I had also worked with oils in the past, but because I'd taken so many classes over the years, I had that kind of inner critic.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And um I thought, you know, I've always been curious about gouache.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And it's such a funny word, anyways.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's right, right.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a vegetable, it sounds like it.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: But and I thought, what if I take on a new medium where I don't have any rules and I can just hang out with the Lord?
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then you taught me um so wonderfully, it's such a simple sentence, but to work with the Lord rather than for the Lord, and to give up striving and really not worry about results.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: And what did that mean for you in just in like a real practical terms?
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Because people, some people might say, Well, that sounds really spiritual, but like how do you how what does that mean for you?
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how are you doing that?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I guess um my husband and I are both like the firstborn, we're a little bit type A, um, especially when you come from a corporate background, marketing and PR, you know, you life can be pretty results oriented.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: I've written children's books before as well.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: And you have that editor, you have to, you know, achieve certain things.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: For me, this was uh so amazing that when I painted, my pain went down about 20%.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I, of course, I'm listening to beautiful music or good teaching or even a podcast or something very encouraging.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: So you're kind of bathing yourself, you're putting yourself um in the best place possible to receive.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_01: And before you even pick up that um paintbrush, you're inviting the Holy Spirit to go, okay, Lord, I don't really know where this is going, but uh please be in charge today.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know who might see this.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: What do they need to receive?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Let's go.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: And you it's my husband and I call it putting on our adventure hats.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: And that's just such a different attitude to approach things with.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then of course, over time through your program, and um we've become very intentional and have built it into not one business but two businesses.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not sure I'd recommend doing that the same year, but I don't know what happened.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so now my jewelry feeds uh the art, and the art feeds the jewelry, and we get to bring that out and see how that impacts people's lives.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: And very humbly, it's just such a joy, such a joy.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: It it is a learning uh process to learn how to wait on the Lord, hear his voice, but at the same time take action, do a lot of the things that we're talking about today.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess talk about some of the practicality of how you have been learning.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: You've been in the program now for a while, but you're you're learning kind of a different way to approach productivity and actually having the business that God's called you to do while at the same time being really true to to what he's called you to do and who he's called you to be.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so I know my natural rhythms per se, like I'm a morning person.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so I have there's things that I one of the things that was very helpful in your program was learning what to say yes to and also saying no to.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_01: So simple things like in the evening, instead of watching TV or even reading um like a paper book, I'll instead put on an audible book and I'll do my painting then.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so learning my rhythms of how to structure and definitely dedicate daily time in the studio, but also that's kind of how I worship now.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's how I interact with the Lord and how um, like even my husband or my kids will say, Hey, maybe you know, if I'm having a day that's a bit off, they're like, Have you been in the studio?
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: Have you been painting?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you got the studio.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, they know me way too well, right?
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the people that can speak into your life, but but um I'm a better version of me with that.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's one of the practical things is is having a dedicated studio time.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then in the middle of the day, that's when I'll do the marketing or I'll take uh one of your classes or another class on um the next skill that I need to level up.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: And um, and then eventually John and I have learned, my husband and I have learned to kind of do the next thing.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And it's very much what you said about in this teaching today about he guides you when you're in motion.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we didn't know what it was like to have um a tent, but the Lord said buy a tent.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: We bought a tent.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: And we're talking about for your art shows.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: For the art shows, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: Great way to start.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: Um I and also you get direct feedback from people, you learn who your clients are, you learn what works, what doesn't work so well, and what might surprise you, the surprises that God has in store.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then even perhaps the small miracles that happen in those moments of deeper connection, which is kind of the why behind everything, right?
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um I mean, we want provision.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: I love to, of course, that's fabulous.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: But also, if I can make someone's small dream come true, whether it's a little kid that's decided to spend their allowance on one of my we have little pieces in in um the booth that they can purchase.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: We're very kid friendly, but also uh for that beginner artist collector, right?
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_01: And then also the more sophisticated ones, um, we're being invited into their home, into their bedroom to I have a um Airbnb that's been modeled, a whole room's been modeled after my art.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, how cool.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: Some of my art is now in Europe and um and Japan.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then I have a jewelry collection that's permanently in a gallery here.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: And wow, you know, that's all happened um in the last two years.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: So it's pretty amazing.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is incredibly amazing.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's incredibly amazing because I know people that work for 20 years to try to have the kind of business that you that you've got.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, he guides us as we're in motion, as we keep just saying yes and stepping out, even when we don't know what to do.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_00: He's the one that that's leading and guiding us and opening these double doors of favor.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And all of a sudden, you and so many of my other students, you you turn around a year later, two years later, three years later, and you're like, How am I even walking in this?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Like this, this it's almost like the Bible says more than you can ask or imagine, right?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say that unfortunately, one of the habits I had to unlearn was deflecting those moments.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: I guess for a while, I was a hobbyist for so long, particularly with the painting, not so much the jewelry, but the painting, that um when those opportunities, I mean, he brought several to me that I kind of deflected.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I even had a whole wedding party come up to me while I'm painting beside a lake.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: They wanted to buy my art off the easel.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And the first time that happened for a bride and groom that was being married there the next day, and I just said, Well, I I don't have my LLC, you know.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, okay.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And they're like, well, well, go get it.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll we really want to do this.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: And on my on my old habit, the old Elizabeth would say, I can't because I've never done it.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: The new person, like recently we were in Carmel, and I'm uh researching, working possibly with a gallery out there, which is very exciting.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: But um, again, it happened.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was painting and someone wanted it off the easel.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_01: And this time I said yes.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: And and I had all my systems built, right?
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I could show them that I, hey, I've this is what I normally sell this size at, and they can feel good about their purchase, and they brought it back to Texas.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: And so I guess um it's just also learning to say that it's okay that God might be bringing you those divine appointments and it's fun and recognizing it.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: I almost needed smelling salt personally.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: Or um, you might there's a saying about don't when a butterfly tries to alight upon upon you, you might think at first it's a fly or something and chew it away.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: And instead, now I'm trying to recognize those um moments when they're happening.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_01: And then I might also need to say no to something else to make room for that new bigger opportunity.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_01: And um, that's where I am right now is learning that, yeah.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to somebody who is in maybe the situation that you're in three years, five years ago?
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody that was creative, loved it, didn't quite know if God had a plan, maybe had a little bit of a dream, but you know, maybe it tries a few things, but not really had some success.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what would you say to them as they're considering, you know, coming into our our pathway course into the coaching community and and all that?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_00: What would you say to them today, Elizabeth?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I I um have a very healthy respect for what you said about the ordering of things.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: I I will admit that I tried the hopscotch at first and to skip, I thought, oh, I've done all my deep work.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: No, like I've already been very honest here today that I had to un my thing was deflecting possibility um and also having that limited mindset.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say that that's where renewing your mind every every day is you just can't get around these anchor moments that that bring you through that.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_01: So have a respect for for the well-tested process that you've put together.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_01: I love connecting with other artists, and you also encouraged me to start, and not just me, the whole community, yeah, to look around in your own area.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I've started a group for Christian creatives here, and we're small, but I've got about 10 or 15 women once a month.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_01: And so, and we critique each other's art and come on, you know, we're praying for each other's businesses or serious hobbies, and that is fabulous to see that happen.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then also it's never too late.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this all started for me.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_01: This season has started in, and I'm in my 50s as well.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I just uh it's truly never too late to know that you are here for a reason.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I have survived a lot of things, you know, we've had health things as well, and I'm like, okay, Lord, I'm still here.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I have joy and fulfillment, and you can have that too.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_01: And also don't be afraid of your quirks.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I have very special eyesight for color, which was very great in my jewelry career, but it's really great.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_01: And in my art career, in that I'm not afraid of vibrant color.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: I do this crazy thing called gouache, and I'm finding success despite it not being as well known as, you know, like oils or acrylics.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, if God has something special and different about you, turn into it.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Don't run away from it.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I just love Elizabeth's story.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what I hope you take away from that today.
• 14:54
  SPEAKER_00: You do not have to have everything figured out to begin building the art business that God has already put on your heart.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be any younger than you already are.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to be more talented.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to have all these years of business experience or whatever.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: But what you do need to be willing to do is learn to renew your mind, learn to create with God, and learn to take practical steps of faith toward the thing that He's called you to do.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, that's really all that Elizabeth did.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_00: She didn't just dream about having an art business, just pray about it, just hope about it.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, she actually started building one step by step with God's help and with mine.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: And friend, listen, I really want that for you too.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I created the Thriving Christian Artist Pathway course and coaching community.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same step-by-step biblical framework that helped Elizabeth move beyond the hobbyist mindset and start growing in confidence and begin building that thriving art business, God's way, that He put on her heart.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Inside the pathway, you'll get clear directions on your calling, how to develop your creative work, how to learn to connect with the right buyers who will pay for your work and how to build a business that aligns with both your faith and the life that God has called you to live.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: And the best part is you never have to do it alone.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: Every week you'll have the opportunity to connect with me, my team, and also other Christian artists from around the world who are walking the exact same journey that you are.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: So, hey, if you're ready to stop wondering whether this could really work for you in this season of your life and start taking practical steps toward making it happen, I would really love to help you.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: Just click the link right here in the description below to learn more about the Thriving Christian Artist Pathway.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I really hope that you'll join us.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, hey, I want to pray for you before you go.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so, Father, I thank you right now for every artist, Lord, that's watching Elizabeth's testimony today.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: God, I thank you that the same things you've done in her life you want to do in their life.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: God, I thank you that the same opportunities and resources and relationships and divine appointments and inspiration, Lord, all that was available to Elizabeth and that's been available to me in my life.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: God, I thank you that it's available to my friend that's watching right now.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: God, I thank you that you're not calling us to be perfect or have it all together.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_00: You're just calling us to give you your yes and take that step of faith.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And so, Father, whatever that is for my friend right now, I pray that you would give them just such a confirmation in their heart of what their next step would be.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: I bless them, Lord, in their creative journey.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: In Jesus' name I pray.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, thank you so much for being here with me today.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let me know in the comments which part of uh this testimony today was really the most impactful for you.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, anything else you want, or if you got a question, I'd love to answer that.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Um, be sure to like, subscribe, do all the stuff.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: And uh, of course, remember till next time, you were created to thrive.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.